Overscheduled kids, harried parents – Whether or not your child is destined to become an Olympic gymnast, it's critical to teach kids they're not defined by what they do, but by who they are, says Bloom.

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Overscheduled kids, harried parents – CNN's Josh Levs enrolled his eldest son in tennis lessons as a kindergartener but wonders if there were many other activities he should be trying. It's a trap many parents fall into.

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Overscheduled kids, harried parents – Activities outside the classroom can help children develop discipline and independence. Bloom recommends being choosy about which activities to pick.

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Overscheduled kids, harried parents – Activities like scouting can take a lot of time and resources from the whole family and might conflict with other sports or hobbies. The key is to find balance, Levs says.

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Overscheduled kids, harried parents – If you tell your child to choose between two major activities, such as karate or ballet, will she someday resent having missed out on the other? Perhaps, Bloom says, but parents need to accept that.

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Overscheduled kids, harried parents – The key is to focus on the life lessons your kids are learning and not stress over the specific activities, Levs says. The goal is a confident child who knows how to "shine," he says.

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Overscheduled kids, harried parents – Kids need time to explore and create their own rules and boundaries, says Robert Stephens, a dad and trainer. It can make for a more resourceful child.

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Story highlights

After an article about overscheduled children, readers shared their thoughts

Some commenters said childhood should be a time of freedom and character-building

Some say a key childhood right is to play outdoors without hovering parents

Some said play dates can be restrictive and take the imagination out of playtime

CNN's Josh Levs covers top stories and hosts "Dads Do it Differently" on HLN's "Raising America." His latest column was inspired in part by his HOBY World Leadership Congress keynote talk, "Shine."

(CNN)"Parental competition" has sent American families into a frenzy of overscheduling activities for their kids. And out of fear, we're depriving them of what childhood should be -- a time of freedom and character-building. Our neighborhoods, once the classic microcosm of a free America, have devolved into little more than supervised "dorms."

Josh Levs

Those were the sentiments behind many passionate responses to my column, "Overscheduled kids, anxious parents," about the conundrum facing millions of parents like me: Determining how many, and which, activities in which to enroll our kids. On CNN.com, Facebook, and Twitter, readers responded in droves.

They were largely in agreement. With children penned in by too much structure, lacking the chance and encouragement to "go out and play," make up their own games and use their imaginations, we're hurting them, readers said.